Holbrook’s Lady Roadrunners opened the season with an “ugly” win on Monday night. Hosting Chinle, the Lady Birds outlasted the Wildcats in overtime to secure a 43-41 win. Holbrook’s best quarter of the night was the initial one of the season with five different players combining for 12 points. In the second period Junior Desirae Bain nailed her second trey of the game and scored five of the six second period points. Holbrook played well defensively in the half court setting, limiting Chinle to just 13 points in the first half which the Birds led 18-13. Bain hit her third and final three of the game in the third and Mika Joe scored on two nice drives with both teams matching each other with 10 in the frame allowing Holbrook to carry their five point lead into the fourth. In the final frame, Chinle went to work in the paint with center Stacey Begay netting eight of her team high 14, helping to force overtime at 39-39. Holbrook senior Shilaine Gorman nailed a three-pointer from the corner on the first possession of overtime and that lead held up the rest of the way. Holbrook struggled to pull away late in the overtime session making just one of seven free throw attempts but they still managed to pull out the win. “We know we have a young team and I figured nerves would show up at some point during the game. That point turned out to be at the free throw line where we left several points off the board. Those will be shots that have to go in down the road to win games. We were really fortunate to win this game. I felt Chinle out played us for most of the night but Desirae hit some big shots early and Madison (Chappell) was a beast on defense with numerous steals at opportune times. “Talynn Spencer might be small but her first varsity game as a freshman was big. She is feisty and once she understands how we do things, she will help us. With two starters fouling out, and Madison scoring just nine points, I wouldn’t have figured we would have won. But Desirae and Mika stepped up with some key shots. Also our team defense was solid for the first three periods, which helped. We had some breakdowns late in the game against Chinle’s interior passing game, but overall a win, despite being ugly, is still a win. We know we have to improve with each and every game to build up for our East Region schedule after Christmas,” explained Coach Greg Perkins. Bain led the team in scoring with 14; Chappell added 9; Joe 8; Talynn Spencer, 5; Gorman, 3; Matehya Aberle, 3; and Megan added 1. Chinle was led by Stacey Begay with 14, and guard Brandie Clah added 10. Holbrook hosted Window Rock yesterday at Munoz Gym.